Larkin Hoffman Briefings

Learn about the biggest projects from top developers, and construction companies. Gain key insights about development challenges and successes, site selection, construction costs and financing, and emerging trends.

Bisnow Twin Cities Multifamily event featuring Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as the keynote speaker. Moderator Jacob Steen will guide a panel of industry leaders as they discuss equitable housing initiatives, covid recovery plans, and generational market shifts that will reimagine Minneapolis multifamily housing and rebuild a stronger future.

Bisnow Twin Cities Multifamily event featuring Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey as the keynote speaker. Moderator Jacob Steen will guide a panel of industry leaders as they discuss equitable housing initiatives, covid recovery plans, and generational market shifts that will reimagine Minneapolis multifamily housing and rebuild a stronger future.

Cyberattacks on employers’ systems or on third parties with whom employers do business are in the rise across the country. Employers need to take a hard look at their current systems to avoid a data breach that affects their employees. In this podcast, Phyllis Karasov and Chris Young discuss how employers can plan for the potential fallout from a data breach, minimize the accompanying financial and operational disruption, and properly communicate with employees and other affected parties when the increasingly inevitable data breach occurs.

Both chambers of Congress are currently making plans to resurrect earmarks as part of the $1.4 trillion in discretionary spending approved every year. The House plan calls for the resurrection of earmarks in the form of “Community Project Funding.” The Senate has not yet announced its plan but both chambers are in negotiations to implement the earmark revival in a transparent and responsible way.  

Our most recent podcast will dive deeper into who is eligible and what they need to do to qualify for funding. The Larkin Hoffman government relations team is ready to assist those interested in preparing proposals for program funding and to guide the projects through the entire process at the Capitol.

Union organizing is down as compared to previous years, but that does not mean employers should believe that support for labor unions has decreased.  NLRB records indicate that the number of representation petitions filed in 2020 is dramatically down from each of the previous four years.  This reduction in representation petitions can be attributed to the challenges for union organizers to personally meet with employees, as well as the fact that for many employees, their primary focus has been on retaining their jobs, looking for jobs, and keeping food on the table.  Joining a union may not be the highest priority for many employees.

We are all waiting for a COVID-19 vaccine. When we have a vaccine,  can an employer require that applicants and employees be vaccinated against COVID-19?  Employers have a legitimate desire to keep their workplaces safe and to protect their employees from contracting COVID-19 in the workplace.   Phyllis Karasov and Dan Ballintine discuss the practical and legal issues associated with an employer mandatory vaccination program.

This week Margaret Vesel and Matthew Bergeron recap the Minnesota legislature‘s second special session and the ongoing negotiations over a capital investment bill, a tax bill, and a supplemental appropriations package. They also turn their attention towards the August 11 primary election and discuss a number of key races to watch.

Margaret Vesel and Matthew Bergeron recap the Minnesota Legislature’s week-long June special session and preview the upcoming special session scheduled for July 13, 2020.  They discuss the ongoing negotiations over law enforcement reform, capital investment, and bonding and examine how the seemingly unrelated issues are interconnected when it comes to finding a “comprehensive deal.”

On June 16th, SBA release an updated loan forgiveness application that reflected provisions of the PPP Flexibility Act.  This guidance indicates a significant change in how borrowers may qualify for loan forgiveness and criteria in selecting the 8-week vs 24-week covered period.  This podcast will update the factors borrowers consider as well as identify the opportunities and pitfalls arising out of this guidance.

The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 was enacted on June 4th as a means of providing relief to PPP borrowers as to requirements that were considered to be onerous.  The podcast will review the provisions of the Act and identify potential opportunities and pitfalls created by the Act.  Just as PPP borrowers’ management of their employees and payrolls were heavily influenced by the loan forgiveness provisions of the CARES Act, this new Act may cause borrowers to revisit these issues and projections of loan forgiveness and repayment.

COVID-19 and the stay at home mandates have had a devastating impact on the business community. Many business owners are looking to their business interruption and other insurance to cover the losses but finding insurers are asserting various coverage issues and exclusions. Paul Smith and Chris Yetka shine a light on what to look for in your policies before you give up on financial help from insurers. This episode of Larkin Hoffman Briefings will discuss the various strategies all businesses should employ when assessing their insurance coverage.

Employers are legally required to make their workplaces “safe” for their employees and customers.  What does “safe” mean, given that no employer can guarantee a virus-free workplace?  What are the rules on screening employees, taking temperatures, and refusing to allow employees showing symptoms of COVID-19 into the workplace?  This session will talk about how to make the workplace safe, OSHA guidance, how to handle employee requests for reasonable accommodation for medical conditions that place them at higher risk if they become infected with coronavirus, whether employees should be required to sign waivers and more.

Your business has successfully applied for a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program. You either have received the loan proceeds or are awaiting receipt of the proceeds. This podcast addresses the management of the proceeds to ensure proper use of them and maximize the amount of proceeds that may be forgiven. Given the complex interplay among the various sets of rules for use, forgiveness, reduction in forgiveness and relief from reduction in forgiveness, compiling pertinent information to develop a game plan for these proceeds will not only allow you to maximize use and forgiveness, but also provide guidance on the support that you may provide to your workforce funded by this government program.